


[Poison & Anecdotes] Surrender the Night

by ButifulDeath



Category: Scion (Tabletop RPG)
Genre: Action, Aesir, F/M, Fighting, Implied Sexual Content, Scion - Freeform, Strong Language, Titans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-21
Updated: 2017-01-21
Packaged: 2018-09-18 21:46:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9404405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ButifulDeath/pseuds/ButifulDeath
Summary: World renown Thief and Scion of Odin, Harper is enticed by her on again off again flame, Storm, to take a job stealing the Shroud of Turin. Despite her reservations she agrees - the impact on their fates will never be forgotten.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was a background excerpt from one of my favorite Table Top characters I've ever played. The Campaign was called Poison and Anecdotes, run by my buddy Michael for a little over a year - we played from Hero to Gods and it was awesome. I have a few more in addition to these Chapters I intend to post once I finish editing them for grammar and understoods the ST knew, but a reader might not. ^_^
> 
> Enjoy!

_ Everyone's a passenger tonight, _

_ Just another accidental on the freeway of this life. _

_ We'll drive on, and on _

_ We'll drive on, and on, and-  _

_ I'll remember this night when you're gone _

Harper didn’t do teams, not really. Occasionally she’d work with someone else, one job and walk away. Usually Storm. It was trust issues, absolutely. People were assholes and looking out for themselves only - it was one way you stayed alive and out of prison in this job. That and she’d inherited her father’s paranoia long before she’d realized ole Ody was Odin. It apparently made him chuckle. Friends and teammates you cared about, and caring about people could be a liability.

There was one person in the room that she trusted - Limbo. Limbo was her contact, well paid enough that she trusted his loyalty to his bank account. Short and athletic, he was an opinionated loud mouth internet troll online. However in person he seemed far more reserved, though from his posture and proximity to her, Harper could tell she was the only person in the room he trust too. Korean-American, he looked like an Asian kid who’d never seen the sun, despite Harper knowing he was at least nearing 30. He cut her a glance out of the corner of his eye, but she didn’t give him anything back. There was too much danger of giving anything away with the folks present. 

She knew how she appeared - Long, straight blonde hair under her favorite trilby - a young man’s hat that had become socially acceptable in women’s fashion, but in a crowd threw off eye witness account of man or woman. Her green eyes were keen and watching the people assembled and despite her lazy posture, she was ready for anyting.

Tarina Bohmer was a SecOps expert - aka the wet works. The Muscle. It was said that she was the Scion of a War God, though no one was sure which one. All Harper knew was she wasn’t Aesir and she was truly scary. Gorgeous, there had to be some magic behind it - you weren’t in her line of work without getting a scar or two in the face area, and the woman was flawless. Harper called bullshit.

Then there was Storm. Handsome, charming, grifter and thief extraordinaire - If Harper could ever trust him she might be in love with him. But then he could be a two faced, conniving son-of-a-god (one she didn’t know). So that was never going to happen. He was fun to play with though, and when he wasn’t being a bastard she enjoyed their time together. His chestnut hair was purposefully wind blown and disheveled, brushing his shoulders over a five o’clock shadow giving him that possibly-just-rolled-in-the-hay look while wearing an impeccably tailored suit, and shirt unbuttoned one too many to be anything but seductive. 

She had to tear her eyes away with a frown, not liking where her brain was going.

And finally the self proclaimed Mastermind of the job; Merle Streifer was a known Scion of Hermes - a demigod no less. Known for being like unto a ghost, he was an incredible forger and art thief and was the one who’d gathered them all together to hear him out. He was shorter than Storm, but taller than Bohmer with silver streaks at his temples and hands in his pockets looking confidently around at the crew. “The Shroud of Turin,” he said into the silence and smiled confidently. 

If the air had been tense before, now it was downright tangible. Limbo literally choked on his own breath while Bohmer frowned and Harper and Storm actually looked at each other like Streifer was out of his mind. Before they could fully react, Merle held up a hand. “I know, it’s impossible right? But no, and apparently it’s something we need against the Titans, and our parents can’t get to it without drawing too much attention. I was told to gather a crew - and here you are.”

“The… Shroud of Turin?” Bohmer asked incredulously in her thick, Herbrew accent. “As in the shroud believed to be the death shroud of Christ that is kept in the royal chapel of the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Turin, northern Italy? THAT shroud?”

“The most fragile, well guarded relic of the world’s most prominent and terrifying religion?” Limbo elucidated further. 

“Yes,” Merle said with a nod like he couldn’t believe their hesitation. “Come on guys, this is big! A relic against the Titans with the power of Christian belief amplifying it, and the cred to say  _ you _ were the ones to knick it? Who would pass that up?”

“Me,” Harper said shaking her head. “We're out. C’mon Limbo.” Turning on her heel, Limbo snapped his laptop shut and saluted sarcastically, following Harper without question. 

“Harper - you’re the lynch pin here,” Merle started in desperation but clammed up as he watched her walk away. She was a little surprised at how easily he’d given up… until she felt the cold breeze that heralded a familiar hand on her shoulder. 

“Don’t you even try, Storm,” she said pausing. “Have you ever been to  _ La Cattedrale di San Giovanni Battista _ ? It’s like Italian Fort Knox.”

“Isn’t that the Vatican?”

“No, the Vatican is the white House sitting on top of the Pentagon,” she grumbled and finally turned to look at him. She didn’t want to. If she looked at him, her chances of resisting his argument were significantly decreased. But it was polite to look at someone when talking to them. That and he wasn’t the only convincing party. 

Limbo was standing at Harper’s shoulder, observing this and schooling his reactions to at least be blank. Harper had been teaching him poker face, since the real world was not sitting behind a computer. He was… getting there. Hacker - there was no one better. Grifter? He was terrible.

“Listen,” Storm said, resting his other hand on her shoulder so that both his thumbs were now rubbing circles gently. “I’ve heard his plan, and it’s good. He’s also right, that you’re the lynch pin.”

“You’re a thief, I’m sure you’ll be fine.”

“I’m the grifter in the plan. We need you.”

“No.”

“You scared?”

“No - It’s just not possible without Fatebindings. Period.”

Storm smirked. “Being Fatebound to me scare you?”

The look of incredulity on her face stole his smirk. “You and I both know if we’re not already Fatebound, we’re not gonna be short of Ragnarok. Pretty sure that bridge went up in smoke like dry tinder years ago.”

“Okay fair…”

“What’s Fatebinding?” Limbo asked curiously. “Is that one of your magick-y things?”

“Who the hell is he?” Storm asked without looking to Limbo. 

“A friend,” Harper smiled, wondering if that was jealousy she saw flash in Storm’s eyes. 

“You don’t have friends.”

“I do when they’re the best hacker in the world.”

With a pause, Storm’s smirk was back. “The security guy. Gotcha. C’mon Harper. We can do it, but we have to do it together. Don’t you like old things?”

Her eyes narrowed and she resisted his charms. “Don’t pull that - you know I do, and you also know that I wouldn’t pass up the chance to touch that fucking thing… if I didn’t think it wouldn’t be instant jail. Merle is cocky, and he is not detail oriented enough. He’s gonna fuck something up, miss something, and we’re all going to pay the price.”

“And that,” Storm said and stepped in, invading her personal space, “Is why  _ I _ need you to agree. You’ll correct his mistakes before they happen - the ones I miss.”

Harper didn’t breathe for a full second around grit teeth and red hot annoyance. He was going to do it, with or without her probably - likely with a far less skilled thief, and then if Storm ended up in jail it would be her fault. At least in her mind. Taking a slow, irritated breath in through her nose, nostrils flaring, she chewed it over a moment. 

“Yeah the lady has spoken buddy,” Limbo said and went to take Harper’s arm to pull her further to the door, but stopped when his hair stood on end, a static shock leaping to his closest finger. Limbo yipped, not from the shock, but from the look on Storm’s face as he looked to the Hacker for the first time. 

“Boys,” Harper said relaxing her jaw, “The lady can speak for herself. I’ll hear the plan,” she agreed. “If I have any reservations, I voice them, and if they’re not addressed, I’m out. And If I’m out, Storm -” she said and reached up to turn his face back to her. Her heart leapt a little when his expression soften as he looked from Limbo to her. “If I don’t like this plan to the point I’m not doing it, I am going to urge you to back out too. Please.”

He stared at her a moment, eye twitching ever so slightly. Eventually he nodded. Turning back to the hall, he offered her his arm and Harper nodded for Limbo to follow. She didn’t have a good feeling from the moment she’d stepped into the abandoned bunker, and it only got worse on Storm’s arm. This certainly was going to be big. She just didn’t think it was a good big.


	2. Chapter 2

_ Just another surgery tonight, _

_ Well if you amputate the loneliness, _

_ Anesthesia dims the lights. _

_ So dream on, and on, and on, and on. _

_ So dream on, and on, and- _

_ I'll remember your eyes when you're gone _

The plan… was actually fairly sound. With a few adjustments to the map and pattern of entry, Harper started to think that maybe with her wits and Merle’s intelligence that they might actually pull it off. 

The plan was elegant in it’s simplicity - Merle would pull them all into a Terra Incognita near the Museum where Limbo would be safe from the Cops and he could push the limits of hacking the security system with equipment Merle had already acquired. Storm would stay in the real world and provide a diversion of the people in the building. The Church was open 24-7, so any priests, security guards or church goers were going to need to be distracted. Merle would then take Harper and Bohmer to the top of the church analog in the Incognita and they would drop down, Mission impossible style through a portal Merle was going to open to let Harper grab the shroud before she was pulled back up through the portal and they were gone untraceable to mortal authorities. Back to the van, and to the meeting point with Storm to get paid, part ways and be done. Half the money upfront, other half when the job was done.

Harper still had reservations - it was risky, but Merle or Storm had an answer for every question she brought to the table. Except for the Fatebindings. Merle was confident that there wouldn’t be big enough expenditures that it would make anything lasting. Not as confident, Harper agreed, but making her reservations known. 

With a few days to get things together, the team met up in Turin arriving separately to avoid suspicion. All under aliases, it wasn’t until the night of the job that they met up on the outskirts of town. Merle arrived with the van and equipment promised to Limbo, grinning like a cat with a canary in his belly as he stepped out. “Here it is - magical state of the art.”

“And you’re sure this will transmit from the other dimension?” Limbo asked.

“Let’s give it a shot,” Merle said gesturing for the four others to get in the van. “Shall we?”

Limbo looked to Harper, and Harper shrugged. “Go for it.”

As her hacker friend followed Merle and Bohmer into the van, Harper went to follow, but was stopped by a gentle hand on her arm. Turning to look at Storm with a raised eyebrow, he was smiling. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“Be glad I was here when we make it out,” she grumbled, but was still paused. 

“Kiss for luck?”

She started to roll her eyes, and he even felt her muscles bunch to walk away - but she stopped. Leaning up, her lips brushed his chastely before she closed the distance and kissed him. They’d kissed before - hell they’d done a lot more - but there was something about that kiss that stood out in her mind. It was memorable in a way that made a mark on her soul. 

Wondering if he’d felt it too, she erred on the side of caution, as ever, and smirked when she started to back away saying, “I make my own luck.” With a wink, she hopped in the van and closed the door. 

Merle drove the van what he was calling “sideways” into “the spirit world”. Poor Limbo was awestruck. She’d taken him through walls before, and he’d seen her do magic, knew she was the child of a god, but she’d never taken him left of reality. She wasn’t sure she could, nor how safe it would be fore Limbo if she did - but Bohmer had warded the van, so hopefully there wouldn’t be any problems.

“Well hell yes,” Limbo grinned. “We’re connected. Get to where you guys need to be, and I’m good to go. 

“We’ll just have to wait for Storm,” Bohmer purred in her middle eastern accent. 

“He’ll be there,” Harper said flatly, arms crossed as she watched Limbo work over his shoulder, her gear already donned and ready to go. “He’ll be there.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OC character death, and strong language

_Sparks against the railing_

_Dispatch phantoms wailing_

_Through the windshield sailing_

_With these Airbags failing now_

She had it. The Shroud of Turin was in her hands. Unfortunately she watched as the two security guards talking to Storm were morphing into winged lions with women’s heads… sphinxes. This was at the same time she suddenly felt slack in the rope and felt magic as Merle cursed and the portal was closing.

Before Harper could fall though, Bohmer was there, catching her and rolling to the safety of the ground. The woman stood and was suddenly a much larger, imposing presence as her legend flared around her and her voice echoed as she stared down the sphinxes saying to Storm and Harper, “Get out of here.”

“I’m not leaving yo-” Harper started to say, but suddenly had the wind entirely knocked out of her at the speed with which Storm scooped her up like a sack of potatoes over his shoulder and started to run towards the nearest outside wall.

“You either handle the wall or we’re smacking into it, baby,” he said and Harper barely had enough time to call on her legend to make them intangible by a literal miracle. On the other side of the wall, Storm shuddered at the feeling and paused to glance around a moment before running towards the road.

As she was over his shoulder, Harper was the only one to see Bohmer being ripped apart by the Sphinxes when the window into the museum came into view. After that and still not being able to breath well, she passed out.

-

Coming to what she gathered was only a handful of minutes later lying in the van, Storm and Limbo were looking down at her in concern. She sat bolt upright, the van peeling around a corner and sending them all flying around as Merle was cussing a solid stream of the most interesting curses Harper had heard in a long time.

“Sphinxes!” she shouted at him.

“Yeah I fucking know!” Merle snapped back.

“How the FUCK did you miss SPHINXES?!”

“How the hell was I supposed to know a fucking Italian relic would have egyptian guardians!”

“Harper, calm down,” Storm tried, grabbing her around the waist as she actually tried to launch herself at Merle, causing them to swerve when Merle saw her coming in the rear view.

“Harper, later,” Limbo said coming in front of her, all the while Merle and Harper were screaming back and forth at each other.

“YOU KILLED HER!” Harper finally screamed over everything else.

That silenced the van.

Merle drove a moment more before slamming on the brakes and getting out of the van. The three in the back piled out after him, Storm having saved them from flying through the windscreen with a wind in the back, Limbo scrambling to get his stuff together and follow the two scions.

“Give me the shroud,” Merle said coming at Harper. But unlike the fight he was expecting, she just threw it at him. Stunned a moment as he held it in his hands, looking it over to see if perhaps it was fake, or what the catch was, he narrowed his eyes at Harper.

“It wasn’t worth her life,” Harper seethed at him. “Never contact me again.” With that, she turned on heel and started marching off. Limbo was hot on her heels, but to her surprise, so was Storm. That was why the roar and Merle’s scream came as such a surprise.

When the three whipped around to look, the two sphinxes from the museum had already killed Merle, one eating his entrails, while the other had the shroud in its mouth.

Backing up slowly as the one with the shroud was walking towards them, the eyes glowed gold and a booming, genderless voices echoed around them. “You who seek the shroud, but did not keep it -”

“We know you are not, the ones who willed to steal it,” said the others, its voice thick with… it’s meal.

“If you flee and don’t look back-” said the first.

“If you leave and come not back-”

“We guardians in kind-”

“We are of the same mind-”

“Will spare your lives, if you never again thieve it. The Shroud has spoken.” The last was in an eerie unison, leaving all three companions wide eyed and staring. Only Harper recovered fast enough to nod fervidly before taking Limbo and Storm’s hands, and forcing a teleport to her hotel room that left her drained and out of magic.

Taking a knee, the world was muffled and blurry around her as her power was so very drained with the effort it had taken to get them out of there. Without a word, Storm scooped her up and into the bed, answering Limbo’s questions best he could. Which was good as Harper could parse his words well enough to do so. Shaky, she wasn't sure what good lying down was going to do, but when she found Storm stayed there beside her in the bed she felt safe enough to pass into unconsciousness.


	4. Chapter 4

_Just surrender your heart_

_I’ll surrender every dream_

_Every weapon you’ve got_

_Every secret that I keep_

_You can fight this all you want…_

Some time later in the night, early in the morning, Harper woke to being kissed and found herself feeling enough better than she and Storm were intimate until the sun started to rise over Turin. He was very distracting, and was the only man in the world she’d ever _wanted_ to be intimate with beyond just seduction for a job. Dangerous, yes. Trustworthy? Hell no. Amazing in bed? Beyond.

Falling asleep again in his arms, she woke a few hours later alone. Storm’s spot on the bed wasn’t entirely cold yet, but he’d not been there in a bit and as she sat up, she yipped in surprise and covered herself rapidly when she saw Limbo in his underwear, bound and gagged against the opposite wall, looking very unhappy.

Dawning the nearest clothes she could find, she dressed and nearly teleported across the room to untie Limbo who had not been in her room earlier that morning. “He’s gone,” Limbo said as soon as the gag was out of his mouth. “He took your share of the upfront pay saying he wasn’t going to leave without the money he was promised - tried to take mine, but I already deposited it into multiple accounts… and he left a note for you.”

Having released her friend, Harper reached from her knees for the note on the table. It read;

 _Literally a night I will never forget. We should do that more often.  
_ _Had to run pay bills, beautiful. Don’t be mad, I’ll see you soon. ~S_

“Why the fuck did he tie you up?” she growled dangerously, crumbling the note in her fist and turning on the hacker. However Harper deflated when Limbo blushed head to toe.

“Cause I walked in on him leaving with your money, told him that he was a piece of shit for doing that to you, you deserved better, and I was going to stop him.” He looked up at her and shrugged. “He just humiliated me, and I have no illusions he could have killed me.”

Letting all of that sink in as she helped him sit up, Harper just pulled Limbo into a hug. She felt bad for Limbo and responsible - she should never have taken this job. He’d not be here if not for her. Her heart also swelled at Limbo’s actions. Her only real friend had put himself out there, as a mundane, to a Scion when he felt she was getting a bad deal.

But her heart also ached for big, scary reasons over Storm that when she started to analyze, were too big and too scary - so she channeled the energy into anger instead. “I’m just glad you’re not hurt,” she said to Limbo, .

They stood to gather their things and go home. There was no mention in the news of Bohmer or Merle and it seemed the Sphinxes or magic, or someone had covered everything up. It wasn’t even known the Shroud had ever left the Cathedral museum.

It did nothing to lift Harper’s black mood.

It would be a long time before she talked to Storm again, and even longer before she would work with him… despite swearing on the plane back to the states it would be “never”.

_You can fight this all you want...._

_...But tonight belongs to me._

__

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Storm and Harper" made here;  
> http://www.rinmarugames.com/playgame.php?game_link=anime-partners-dress-up-game


End file.
